Armed Conflict

Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Written Answer by Baroness Amos on 30 October (WA 152) means that the United Kingdom is legally at war; and, if so, with whom.

Baroness Amos: I refer the noble Baroness to the earlier reply given on 30 October. The term "the war against terrorism" has been used to describe the whole campaign against terrorism, including military, political, financial, legislative and law enforcement measures. No formal declaration of war has been made by HMG. The UK's action is fully consistent with decisions of the UN Security Council and with our obligations in international law.

Asylum Seekers: Voucher Scheme

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their response to the joint evidence of the British Medical Association and the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture in relation to the operation of the voucher scheme and its effect on asylum seekers.

Lord Rooker: I read with interest the report from the BMA and medical foundation. As my right honourable friend the Home Secretary has made clear, the voucher scheme is to be abolished and replaced with a less socially divisive scheme by early autumn 2002. In the new accommodation centres which we are trialling, asylum seekers will have access to board and lodging and on-site medical services.

Barnett Formula: European Funding

The Duke of Montrose: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the comments by Lord McIntosh of Haringey about European funding during the debate on the Barnett formula on 7 November (HL Deb, cols. 258–63):
	(a) whether they will provide the expenditure figures included in this regard for each of the United Kingdom regions for the last three years; and
	(b) whether, in calculating the figures for each region, any sum has to be added to reflect the cost of administering the various European schemes by the British Government; and, if so, what is that cost.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: This information is not readily available. However, Table 14d in the 2001 Departmental Report of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments (Cm 5116) contains information on receipts from the EC budget by department, including the Scottish Office and Welsh Office, and fund, for the period from 1995–96 to 2003–04. The cost of administering the various European schemes by the Government is not identified separately but is contained within departments' administration cost limits.

Parental Responsibility

Lord Northbourne: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they propose to implement the recommendations in the Utting Report People Like Us which states, "The responsibilities of parents are not clearly stated in the law for England and Wales. Government should define these in primary legislation: or issue a statement of them when next it legislates on matters that affect them".

Lord Irvine of Lairg: It would not be appropriate to define all the circumstances of parental responsibility, which is bound to vary with the age and capacity of the child. Any list of responsibilities would be subject to challenge. The circumstances of each case should be considered. The Government recognises that one third of children are born to unmarried parents and the Adoption and Children Bill currently before Parliament proposes that unmarried fathers who jointly register a birth with the mother will acquire parental responsibility without further formality.

House of Lords Reform

Lord Lipsey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend the list system for the choice of elected Members of the House of Lords to be (a) a closed list system or (b) an open list system or (c) a semi-open ("Belgian") system.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: Given that the purpose of the introduction of elected Members of the Second Chamber will be the representation of opinions in the nations and regions, it is right that a proportional electoral system is to be used. This system will be based around multi-member constituencies, one for each of the UK's nations and regions. The use of a list system flows from that.
	The Government have made no final decision as to the nature of the list to be used. As my right honourable friend the Lord President of the Council made clear on 7 November, during his Statement in the House of Commons on the Government's White Paper on House of Lords reform, the Government are looking forward to consultation and discussion on the nature of the list system to be used.

House of Lords Reform

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	For each of the last 10 Parliaments, what would have been the number of members of each political party who would have been directly elected under the proposals in the White Paper on House of Lords' reform for 120 elected members selected according to votes cast at a general election, assuming they were elected only for one Parliament; and what would be the number of members of each political party assuming they had all been elected in 1966 and thereafter for a five, 10 or 15-year term.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: The table below sets out what would have been the likely distribution of the proposed 120 directly elected seats returned by regional constituency based on the general election results for the past 10 Parliaments.
	Statistics on the number of votes cast by the regions that will, according to the Government's plans set out in the White Paper The House of Lords—Completing the Reform (Cm 5291), form the basis of the constituencies for elections to the House of Lords are not readily accessible for general elections prior to 1983.
	The five elections prior to that are results based on the number of votes cast nationally rather than regionally.
	The regional structure to which votes are attributed to various parts of England has varied over the last five Parliaments. Such changes could, at the margin, affect the distribution of seats to political parties. No account has been taken in this analysis of changes in population, with each region allocated seats based on its current share of the proposed 120 elected seats.
	In the results for 1966 and 1970, estimates for the Conservatives include seats won in Northern Ireland.
	
		
			 Election Conservative Labour Lib Dem/Alliance Plaid Cymru SNP DUP UUP SDLP Sinn Fein Others (N.I.) 
			 1966 52 58 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 1970 57 52 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 1974 Feb 46 45 23 0 2 0 2 1 0 1 
			 1974 Oct 43 48 22 0 3 0 2 1 0 1 
			 1979 54 44 16 0 2 0 2 1 0 1 
			 1983 51 33 32 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 
			 1987 51 39 25 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 
			 1992 50 44 20 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 
			 1997 39 56 18 0 3 0 2 1 1 0 
			 2001 38 54 21 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 
		
	
	It is not possible to forecast what the figures would have been for the members of each political party elected in 1966 for five, 10 or 15-year terms. Other than in 2001, there were no general elections in cycles of five, 10 or 15 years from 1966.

Lords of Appeal in Ordinary

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the maximum number of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary who were Members of the House at any one time during each Parliament since 1945.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: There are currently 12 Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. That number has not been exceeded at any time since 1945.

Oil Prices and Security Arrangements

Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What studies they have undertaken into real oil prices per barrel from the Middle East and the Gulf when the cost of security arrangements and deployment have been taken into account; and what was the outcome of such studies.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: No such studies are available.

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSL) had been installed to end users by 31 October; and whether they are satisfied with the levels of take-up.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Figures gathered by the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) show that to the end of October 2001, some 100,000 ADSL lines had been installed to end users.
	Increasing the level of take-up is a challenge for both government and industry. The Broadband Stakeholder Group will soon be publishing its recommendations for increasing broadband deployment and take-up in the UK.

Ofcom: Information Service Activities

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	To what extent the Office of Communications Bill is concerned with the regulation of information services.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Office of Communications Bill establishes the Office of Communications (Ofcom), enabling the Government to take practical steps to get the regulator up and running to receive the functions a communications Bill would confer upon it. This is purely a paving measure and is not concerned with regulation but with the preparation of a body to receive regulatory functions at a later stage.

Ofcom: Information Service Activities

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	To what extent the establishment of Ofcom will represent a requirement of a general nature relating to the taking up and pursuit of information service activities.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The establishment of Ofcom is intended to bring together the regulatory responsibilities of five existing authorities operating in the communications area. The Office of Communications Bill currently before the House does no more than provide the authority to begin to take practical steps to bring the five bodies together. Ofcom will have no regulatory responsibilities until a communications Bill giving it such responsibilities is passed by Parliament. We hope to publish a draft of the communications Bill for consultation in the spring of 2002. The Communications White Paper published in December 2000 set out the range of responsibilities that are anticipated for Ofcom in due course.

Ofcom: Information Service Activities

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the justification, content and purpose of the Office of Communications Bill is devoted in whole or in part to controlling information service activities.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Office of Communications Bill establishes the Office of Communications (Ofcom), enabling the Government to take practical steps to get the regulator up and running to receive the functions a communications Bill would confer upon it. This is purely a paving measure and will not involve any regulation whatsoever.

Ofcom: Information Service Activities

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the statement by Baroness Blackstone on 29 October (HL Deb, col. 1187), whether in respect of Ofcom and its remit for regulation of information services, coverage is the same as that for existing legislation on broadcasting, telecommunications and the management of the spectrum.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Ofcom's full remit for regulation will be set out in a communications Bill, a draft of which we hope to publish in the spring of 2002 for consultation. The Communications White Paper published in December 2000 set out the Government's initial thinking on what that remit should be.

Respiratory Disease Compensation Scheme Contracts

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will agree to the disclosure of contracts in respect of the Department of Trade and Industry's respiratory disease contracts with AON-IRISC and Healthcall.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: In keeping with the normal standards of commercial confidentiality that the department would expect to maintain with its contractors, the department will not be agreeing to the disclosure of the contracts with Aon-IRISC or Healthcall in respect of the respiratory disease compensation scheme.

10GHz and 40GHz Radio Spectrum

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When and in what way they anticipate that 10GHz and 40GHz radio spectrum will be made available to the industry.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: the Radiocommunications Agency is reviewing the present use of and future plans for the 10GHz band in order to clarify how much radio spectrum could be made available to the industry and on what basis. At present it seems most likely that a competition will be held in the second quarter of 2002. No decisions have been taken yet as to the form that this competition will take.
	(There is as yet no real consensus within the industry as to how the 40GHz band might best be used). Before making decisions about what type of competition to hold on 40GHz and when, the Radiocommunications Agency is planning to hold a further round of consultations with manufacturers and potential operators. The agency is willing however to make available test and development licences immediately to companies wishing to prove concepts or develop technologies for this band.

Miners: Respiratory Disease Claims

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Given the number of years since Mr Justice Turner's judgment in 1998 in favour of miners suffering from respiratory disease, (a) whether it is acceptable for those miners or their widows to have to wait another similar period before all outstanding cases are dealt with and (b) when they expect the process to be complete.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The handling agreement was formally signed with the solicitors acting for the claimants on 24 September 1999. Claims could not have been dealt with before this date. It has taken further time to agree outstanding issues with the claimants' solicitors. These have now largely been resolved, enabling us now to start making offers in larger numbers.
	With over 170,000 claims registered, this is the largest personal injury compensation scheme in British history and it will take time to settle all claims. It would be inappropriate for the department to make predictions about the overall length of the scheme while over 900 new claims continue to be registered each week.

Miners: Respiratory Disease Claims

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How they will effectively tackle the bottlenecks which have created the present backlog of approximately 170,000 respiratory claims by miners.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Approximately 170,000 claims have been registered to date in respect of compensation for respiratory disease.
	The outstanding issues in relation to claims have now largely been resolved. This means that where previously only interim payments could be made, offers can now be made in full. Although it will take some time for the process to ramp up fully in all respects, the department's aim is that IRISC, the department's claims handlers, will have made 50,000 offers by the end of next year.
	Claims continue to be processed in accordance with the handling agreement whereby the most elderly and ill claimants are being prioritised. Widows are also being dealt with first wherever possible. The department aims to have processed claims from the most vulnerable by spring 2002.

Miners: Respiratory Disease Claims

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, after the compensation is in place, they now accept a timetable of years, rather than months, before miners' respiratory claims are settled.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: For the scheme as a whole, the department envisages that it will take some years to finish. A prioritisation process is in place to seek to ensure that the oldest, most vulnerable claimants have their claims dealt with as soon as possible. While claims continue to be registered at a rate of over 900 a week for respiratory disease and over 300 a week for vibration white finger, it is inappropriate to put a timescale on completion.

Miners: Respiratory Disease Claims

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Department of Trade and Industry has retained Mr Mark Pyeman of Shell to act as a management consultant and to investigate and prepare a report on the whole process of handling miners' compensation claims; whether the consultant has completed his investigation; and, if so, whether his full report will be made available to both Houses.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The department has engaged Mark Pyman on secondment from Shell to advise us on ways of improving the management of the delivery of the respiratory disease and vibration white finger schemes. He joined the Coal Health Claims Unit at the end of August and has had extensive discussions with all parties involved in the schemes. He has worked with a team from PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) which had been asked to advise the department on the best structure for the Coal Health Claims Unit following the initial phase of the schemes.
	Mr Pyman has made recommendations to the department which we have agreed and are putting into operation. The department does not intend formally to make public those recommendations, which relate to internal management of the department and its relations both with contractors and solicitors representing claimants. The broad conclusions have however been discussed with interested parties who have generally welcomed the changes the department is now putting into effect.

Refrigerators and Freezers:Disposal

Lord Glentoran: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their policy on the destruction and processing of redundant refrigerators and freezers.

Lord Whitty: EC Regulation No 2037/2000 on ozone depleting substances (ODS), which came into effect in October 2000, requires "controlled substances" (including CFCs and HCFCs) in coolants and in insulating foam to be removed before recycling or reclamation of refrigeration units. This requirement will apply to all refrigerators and freezers from 1 January 2002.

Bushmeat

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What conclusions they have reached from the study they commissioned Bushmeat—A Pilot Study; and what action they will be taking as a result.

Lord Whitty: The consortium undertaking the Government's research project on bushmeat, Bushmeat—A Pilot Study, has not yet submitted its final report, which is expected by the end of the year.
	Once we do receive it, we expect to present it to the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Bushmeat Working Group, which is due to take place in February or March next year. This will provide an opportunity to engage African range states, obtain their input on subsequent actions and enlist their involvement in taking these forward.

British Bird Population: Effects of Slug Pellets

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 12 November (WA 59) whether they take the view that the risk from pellets and treated slugs to British birds, and to the song thrush in particular, is significant; and, if so, on what research evidence this view is based.

Lord Whitty: It is the Government's policy that pesticides should not harm people or the environment. All pesticides are subject to strict regulatory control and Ministers must approve a product before it may be marketed or used.
	Approvals for slug pellets follow the advice of the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) that, provided they are used in accordance with strict statutory conditions, slug pellets do not present an unacceptable risk to British birds. The ACP's advice is based on the critical evaluation of scientific data submitted by companies seeking to support the use of these pesticides and including research on effects on the environment and non-target species (including birds).

Tourism: Regulation

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they received at the Tourism Summit regarding the need for deregulation in the tourism industry; and what action they intend to take as a consequence of those representations.

Baroness Blackstone: At the second annual Ministerial Tourism Summit on 6 March 2001, Ministers from across Whitehall agreed to continue to work for better regulation in tourism. At the Tourism Industry Seminar on 10–11 October, convened by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to discuss the issues facing the long-term strategic development of the industry, delegates agreed the need to develop a fitness for purpose approach to better regulation of hotels and restaurants, concentrating on what customers really need, with a light touch for well-run businesses and singling out poor performers. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is currently drawing up a more detailed plan of actions to be taken.

Football Dispute

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are considering any help in resolving the dispute between the Professional Footballers' Association and the football bodies on a basis fair to professional footballers past and present who rely on the association's charitable funds for relief of hardship, help with medical costs and education and training.

Baroness Blackstone: The Premier League, the Football League and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) are discussing the share of revenue to be passed to the PFA under the leagues' present broadcasting contracts. The Government are well aware of the PFA's work in assisting current and former players and hope that a satisfactory settlement may be reached without the need for industrial action. However, the Government have no plans to intervene in the dispute, which must be resolved by the sport itself if the terms of any settlement are to enjoy the full confidence of all interested parties.

Community Care Grants

Earl Russell: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What has been the percentage change in real terms in Social Fund expenditure on community care grants since 1997.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: Since April 1997 the gross discretionary Social Fund budget has increased by £153.1 million, from £467.5 million to £620.6 million, an increase of almost 33 per cent. Within this, the community care grant budget has increased by over 6 per cent to £103 million. Last year a record 2.3 million initial awards were made from the discretionary Social Fund.
	Expenditure on community care grants in 1997-98 was £96.5 million, which at 2000-01 prices was £103.5 million. Expenditure in 2000-01 amounted to £100.1 million, a reduction in real terms of 3.3 per cent. However, the number of people receiving income support or income-related jobseeker's allowance who are eligible to apply for community care grants fell by nearly 11 per cent during this period. Notes: 1. Source: Social Fund Account 1997-98; Social Fund Annual Report 2000-01. 2. Expenditure in real terms has been calculated using the Gross Domestic Product deflator released by Office for National Statistics on 24 September 2001.

Sustainable Development: Cabinet Committee

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the composition and terms of reference of the new Cabinet Committee on the preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The Prime Minister has asked the Deputy Prime Minster to chair a new Cabinet Committee on sustainable development in preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in September 2002. The composition and terms of reference of the new committee are: Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (MISC18) Composition The Deputy Prime Minister (Chair) Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Chancellor of the Exchequer Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary of State for International Development Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions Invited to attend Minister of the Environment, Northern Ireland Executive Minister of the Environment, Scottish Executive Minister of the Environment, Welsh Assembly Terms of Reference "To develop, co-ordinate and deliver the Government's strategy for the World Summit on sustainable development in September 2002".